Press one button on any phone and your name appears on a display at your station

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:

Why should we choose IamResponding? The answer is simple. IamResponding is the original, most reliable and most complete responder tracking system in the industry.

Much more than an app, IamResponding is a complete system, providing more features, more functions, more communication pathways, more benefits, and more value than any other responder tracking product.

IamResponding is also delivered via the most reliable, proven web-based network in the industry, with complete local and geographically diverse redundancy and failover. With thousands of departments as subscribers, and more than a quarter-million users, IamResponding has been real-world proven for a decade, has processed many millions of calls and dispatches, and has delivered more than 500 million messages to our subscribers. When you need it most, IamResponding is there for you!

What is IamResponding.com? IamResponding.com (www.iamresponding.com) is a web-based system which saves critical time for fire departments, EMS agencies, rescue and other technical rescue teams (Hazmat, Dive, Rope Rescue, etc.), and any other incident response teams when responding to emergencies. After receiving a dispatch notification through any existing system (or through IamResponding to any of your mobile devices), responders simply speed dial one number on any phone, or press a button on IaR's free apps. On one simple computer screen (accessed through any computer or mobile device with internet access), their station, chiefs, team leaders and dispatchers immediately see who is responding, their level of certification/qualification, the time that they are responding, and where they are responding (station or scene). No one needs to answer any telephone or radio calls from any responders, and no software needs to be purchased or installed. With IamResponding.com, no more time is wasted waiting for members who are not responding, reactivations are issued much sooner when not enough responders are en route to the station or scene, and response times are significantly reduced. It’s that simple!

IamResponding also provides: supplemental dispatch notifications to your members via app push notifications, text messages, emails and alpha-pagers (all simultaneously, and all managed by the members themselves); mapping and routing to the scene of the incident; customizable mapping layers showing the real-time location of all of your responding members, hydrant and water source locations, pre-plans, hazards, road closures, AED and FDC locations, and 40+ other customized map markers; an internal mass-messaging system for easy and fast communications with all of your members; records management tools for certification tracking, training records, incident reporting, and attendance, and many more features.

Do we need any new software? No. No new software is required to operate IamResponding.com. The only system requirement for the operation of IamResponding.com is a telephone or an internet connection.

Do we need new hardware? No. No new hardware is required to operate IamResponding.com. However, the system is typically utilized more effectively when a monitor is placed in your truck bay in an area where your members will be able to see it as soon as they enter your station to respond to an emergency (For example, many fire departments mount a monitor somewhere near their turnout gear, and leave that monitor logged into this system 24x7x365). By having the system viewable on such a monitor, the first member of your department who enters the station to respond to the emergency will be able to immediately see whether or not you have a full crew on the way to either the station or scene.

I don’t want to be on the telephone when driving to the station or scene, how can I avoid that? We don’t want you driving while on the telephone either! Members of departments and teams that subscribe to IamResponding.com program a toll-free number into their telephones (any type of phone, and with any phone carrier), and simply speed dial that number to inform their station and dispatcher when they are responding to an incident. The telephone calls last no more than a few seconds, and can be as brief as the time that it takes to press a single button on your telephone. You literally can press one button, drop your phone, and go! Even if members try to stay on the phone, the IamResponding.com system will automatically disconnect the call as soon as the member's call has been registered.

Members with internet connected mobile devices can bypass the call-in system via IaR's free apps. They simply press a button on their app to indicate their responding status, and then drop the phone. That's typically done before they even get behind the wheel.

What is the telephone call-in system, and how does this system compare to text message based systems? IamResponding's call-in system is a redundant back-up system that is provided for users who do not have current access to an Internet connected mobile device when they are indicating that they are responding to an incident.

When you call IamResponding.com, you are immediately connected to our automated telephone system. When you hear our automated system answer your telephone call, you know for certain that you have reached our system. Within four (4) seconds of your call being completed, your responding information will appear on your department or team’s dedicated website, every time. The utilization of telephone calls as the means by which to activate this system is what guarantees the near-instantaneous posting of your responding information. While text messaging may be a useful tool in some situations, it is not a reliable method of communicating critical messages that depend on timely delivery to the intended recipient(s). Text message delivery time is highly variable, and depends on many factors which can not be reliably controlled by either the message sender or message recipient. Sometimes text messages are delivered in seconds, but other times a message from the same sender to the same recipient can take minutes (or even longer) to be delivered. When seconds count, such as in responses to fire and EMS calls, time can not be wasted waiting for text messages to be delivered. Our patent pending telephone based system eliminates any delays or uncertainty associated with any other means of communication.

Of course, if you have a mobile device with internet connectivity, you can bypass the call-in system entirely and indicate your response status via IaR's free apps.

Do I need a special phone? No, any telephone can be used to call into this system, including smart phones, "dumb" cellular telephones, land-line phones and satellite phones. The only requirement is that any feature blocking your caller ID be disabled for phone calls made into this system. That can be easily accomplished by programming a special code into your phone when you program your speed dial function.

Are there any obligations or costs associated with your free two-month trials? No! Free means free, with no fine print or exceptions, and there are no costs, contracts or obligations whatsoever to use this system free for two months. When you sign up for one of our free, two-month trials, we want you to use the system as much as possible so that you can see all of the many benefits of subscribing to IamResponding.com.

How does your mass-messaging system work? IamResponding.com includes an mass-messaging module that enables you to quickly send messages to individual members and/or groups of members via email, text message and/or pagers. You can create up to fifty different groups of members, and can send messages to selected individuals, or to one or more of your groups. There is no limit to the number of outbound messages that you can send, and there is no additional cost associated with sending messages to your members. This is a very effective and efficient tool for intra-departmental communications, and works much better than traditional email lists because all of your members are able to update their own contact information at any time within this system, any updates to your members’ email, text message and pager addresses are therefore immediately updated for all of the groups to which they belong. Meeting reminders, drill reminders, apparatus out of service announcements, and incident updates are all simplified by the use of this mass-messaging system.

Is there technical support available if we have any issues while using this system? Yes. In the unlikely event of any technical issues, subscriptions to IamResponding.com include 24x7x365 email technical support, at no additional cost. As a demonstration of the high level of confidence that we have in the reliability of IamResponding.com, subscribers are also provided with the direct email address and direct mobile telephone number of our company President, so that our subscribers may reach him directly with any urgent technical issues.

Is there grant funding available for IamResponding.com? Yes, there are various grant funding opportunities for IamResponding.com. Department of Homeland Security grant programs have funded subscriptions to this system in a variety of locations. In Pennsylvania, grant funding is available for this system through the State Fire Commissioner’s annual grant program. Grants have also been awarded through the Fireman’s Fund Heritage Program and through Walmart’s community grant programs, as well as through many other similar programs. There are also various grant programs, both on the State and Federal levels, that we believe this system qualifies for. For any grant related questions, please contact our sales team.

Do you have a question that is not answered here? If so, feel free to contact us through the "Contact Us" page of this website so that we may answer any other questions that you might have.